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Logitech Gives A Mouse A Laser

Kaveh writes "Looks like Logitech has introduced a successor to its popular MX line of cordless mice. In addition to a more ergonomic design, lithium ion battery, tilt wheel (read horizontal scrolling), and battery indicating LEDs, this mouse introduces laser technology. According to the Logitech this allows the MX1000 to be 20x more precise than optical mice, not to mention work on any surface, including a mirror! Check out the 3DGPU forums for pics and more info."

37 of 511 comments (clear)

  1. Text by McKinney83 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Main point: HIGH PERFORMANCE CORDLESS MOUSE WITH LASER TRACKING
    PI DATE : JULY 2004
    TECHNOLOGY : Fast RF cordless
    SYS REQS : IBM or compatible PC,
    Windows 98, 2000, Me or XP,
    Available USB or PS2 port, CD-ROM drive
    Macintosh system - Mac OS X+,
    Available USB port, CD-ROM drive
    FEATURES : * MX Laser Engine provides 20 x times the tracking power
    of optical
    * a built-in lithium-ion battery & rapid-charging base station
    * Fast RF cordless delivers cordless performance that equals USB corded connection
    * New thumb-button controls include universal page forward and back buttons and application switch to quickly move between open windows
    * Illuminated 4-level batt indicator precisely monitors batt strength
    * Wheel tilts for side-to-side scrolling, zoom with a click of the wheel
    * Cruise Control rocker for speed scrolling up and down
    * Deep-sculpted thumb support for incredible comfort, outside finger grips enhance control

    PACKAGE CONTENT :
    * Logitech MX-1000 Laser cordless mouse
    * Recharging base station,
    * CD-ROM with SetPoint SW
    * Installation guide,
    * PS2 to USB adapter

    --
    Winner of The Second Annual Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.
  2. Slashdotted.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    1. Re:Slashdotted.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      coralized doesn't work worth a crap...

  3. Clickable like ;) by kunjan1029 · · Score: 4, Informative

    opps

    here's the clickable one

    Mirror

    Damn have to wait 2 minutes~

  4. Re:Still no bluetooth rechargable mouse by yetiman · · Score: 2, Informative

    uuhh...yes they do, and have for some time now...

    http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/detai ls /CA/EN,CRID=3,CONTENTID=7110

  5. Re:Needed warning label by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    It's probably very low power like some digital cameras that are intended to be pointed at people's faces.

    IIRC, my camera says the laser it projects is rated at 30,000 seconds (or something like that) meaning that you could stare directly at it for over 8 hours with no damage to your retina.

  6. Picking nits. by iamdrscience · · Score: 4, Informative

    Just to be a dick, this isn't the first mouse that uses a laser. There were a few laser mice (pre "optical" mice) but they required a special pad so the advantages over a regular mouse were minimal (really just that you didn't have to clean them).

  7. Other Links by jaaron · · Score: 2, Informative

    Here's a (currently) non-/.'ed image of the mouse:

    http://img16.exs.cx/img16/8692/mx-1000.jpg

    Another Forum Review on the Logitech MX1000

    If all else fails, check Google

    --
    Who said Freedom was Fair?
  8. Re:Does It Fix This Problem? by Lisandro · · Score: 2, Informative

    This is the so called "bouncing" problem, and it's specially noticeable on earlier, lower DPI optical mouses. Gamers particularly bitched on this - i know quite a few who brought the new Microsft Intellimouse just because it fixed the problem (or so they say).

    In my mouse (Genius Powerscroll EYE optical) it happens when you do an extreme move to one direction; the pointer jumps and "jitters" to the oposite for a second; i use high sensitivity so it never bothered me. Newer optical mouses have to be moved very, very (and i do mean very) fast in order for this to happen.

  9. Power effeciency of lasers by FooAtWFU · · Score: 4, Informative

    Lasers actually don't take all that much power- they're highly efficient. Then again, the LED which they're replacing doesn't usually take too much power either. My guess is that it's not a significant change.

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  10. Re:Finally! by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Informative

    A tilt switch usually means either a switch with a weight meaning you need two of them to make it work to cover two axes, or a mercury switch which has the same problem plus the drawback that the contents can be toxic if they escape the switch in exchange for being more reliable than a mechanical tilt switch. A two-axis MEMS accelerometer is available quite cheaply from Analog Devices and is a quite small little part. I am sure they will become even cheaper and smaller in the future.

    --
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  11. Re:Give a mouse a laser... by MikeXpop · · Score: 5, Informative

    FUNNY!? /sorry, couldn't resist //watch this get modded informative

    --
    Etiquette is etiquette. He kills his mother but he can't wear grey trousers.
  12. Re:A mirror? by peipas · · Score: 5, Informative

    I am holding the box for the MX1000 in front of me right now and it begs to differ in fine print after an asterisk:

    "The laser sensor will not work on surfaces that reflect, like mirrors or glass."

  13. Re:Wireless Lag by MJOverkill · · Score: 2, Informative

    You must be using an early generation wireless mouse then. I have been using an mx700 since they came out, and there is no delay between mouse movement and pointer movement. Since the mx1000 uses the same 'FastRF' communication the mx700 does, then it will have no delay either.

  14. Re:Class of Laser? by grondin · · Score: 3, Informative

    The picture of the bottom of the mouse shows the laser label. "Class 1 laser device"

  15. Re:Finally! by BillyBlaze · · Score: 4, Informative

    Lasers are absolutely not inherently more dangerous than any other form of light. The danger comes from the amplitude of light that enters your eye, which is a function of the power of the source, the distance, and the focusing. So assuming they focus the laser as diffusely as they focus the red light from current optical mice, it's no more dangerous.

  16. Re:Hate to tell you this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Did I miss the part where Vancouver annexed Switzerland?

    http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/about/company/CA /EN,CRID=296

  17. Re:A mirror? by FlipmodePlaya · · Score: 5, Informative

    From the forum post linked in the article:

    "Already you might be surprised to know that this mouse has had no issues with any surface I have tried it on, including a mirror. It states that you shouldn't use it with reflective surfaces but I wanted to see what this thing could do."

  18. Re:Class of Laser? by Technician · · Score: 5, Informative

    The picture of the bottom of the mouse shows the laser label. "Class 1 laser device"


    If memory serves me right, a class 1 LASER device has a totaly enclosed interlocked LASER system.

    This means no external radiation of LASER light unless the device is opened and interlocks are defeated. It's the same rating CD drives have. The drive must be opened (cover removed) and tricked into operation without a CD in place to turn on the LASER and cause any exposure.

    If it truly uses a LASER to track and is class 1, it must have another LED to sense the presence and movement of the target (table, pad, etc) before it will turn on the laser. Otherwise it would have a class 2 or 3b rating like a supermarket UPC scanner. They may have done this to save power when the mouse is not moving (low power LED when stationary or not on a surface) and to get the safer LASER class 1 rating.

    I imagine it will only kick on the LASER when the low power light detects movement and kicks on the LASER for the resolution.

    LASER is an acronym. I'm not shouting.

    --
    The truth shall set you free!
  19. Re:Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    There exist electrolytic tilt sensors. Tiny. 2 axes. I've got one. Happy?

    (Although I do prefer the mems solution, or even better, none at all. Tough shit for little Billy if he wants to play with lasers and hurts himself.)

  20. Re:lasers, and bluetooth by simoncion · · Score: 2, Informative

    Nope, that's a red LED that you're seeing.

  21. Some pictures of the MX1000 by z3021017 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Since the site is /.ed:
    Picture One

    Picture Two

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  22. Re:A mirror? by gregh2000 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I currently own a MX1000, and I have tried it on a mirror, and my computer's monitor and neither of them work. I wonder if the mirror they used had a bunch of dust on it and it was tracking the dust, or what the deal is, but it doesn't work on mine.

  23. Re:Microsoft's drivers are still better by z3021017 · · Score: 2, Informative

    The mouse drivers are fine, but the software is not. The drivers work as they are supposed to - they make the mouse work. However, it's the craptastic software that lets the drivers down.

    The MX series are considered the best mice for twitch gaming like First Person Shooters, yet the majority of these gamers don't use the Logitech software because it doesn't play nice with many games. To avoid all this nastiness with the mouse software, they instead use the generic Windows XP PS2 mouse driver, and then lose the ability of the topmost, 'task switch' button.

    There is a way to install the drivers without the software though:
    1. Download the Logitech Mouseware.
    2. Use WinZip to open up the install .exe file.
    3. Unzip to a temp directory
    4. Goto Control Panel -> Mouse
    5. Look for and install the mouse driver within the temp directory

    It doesn't really offer any advantages over the generic PS2 mouse driver (the topmost button still doesn't work), but at least you can say that you're using the correct drivers!

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  24. Re:Call me crazy but I like mouse pads.. by TheRealStaunch · · Score: 1, Informative

    Your crazy (Somebody had to do it) On another note: You can visibly see a difference on the surface of my desk where my mouse is.

    --

    -- Get
  25. Re:NewEgg is shipping them. That's great and all, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Well, they don't have it yet, but I would expect it pretty soon at http://www.vibecomputers.com

    They had the MX-510 quite quickly, even when it was hard to find outside of Best Buy.

  26. Re:Give a mouse a laser... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    Something actually informative for those who don't know what this is about...

    If you give a mouse a cookie...

  27. Re:Finally! by spectecjr · · Score: 4, Informative

    Lasers are absolutely not inherently more dangerous than any other form of light. The danger comes from the amplitude of light that enters your eye, which is a function of the power of the source, the distance, and the focusing. So assuming they focus the laser as diffusely as they focus the red light from current optical mice, it's no more dangerous.

    1. In that case, why use a laser at all? Why not use an ultrabright red LED? To have any benefit in using a laser at all, they must be making use of interference effects, which means they need a coherent light source. Which meas that no, they won't diffusely focus the light at all.

    2. The danger comes from the fact that laser light is planar, and because of this not only will your eye will attempt to focus it, and will open the pupil wider in response to it at the same time, for maximum retinal damage.

    --
    Coming soon - pyrogyra
  28. MX700 and paint problems anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'd really like to buy this new mouse, but I'm having serious paint issues with my MX700, which I bought in a european store called BEEP.

    For the record, I haven't had issues with any other previous mouses.

  29. Re:LASER by mkro · · Score: 4, Informative
    could this double as a laser pointer? Imagine a cordless laser-driven mouse that also had pointing capabilities for presentations and such. that'd be rad.
    No, it can't. The laser under the MX1000 has no visible light.
    --
    I shall go and tell the indestructible man that someone plans to murder him.
  30. Re:Call me crazy but I like mouse pads.. by Erik+Hollensbe · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you can buy into the whole "performance mouse pad" thing (it took a lot of convincing from other people before I could), check out the func1030. It really is worth it, the surface is slicker than any desk or other mouse pad I have used and one side has more tack. For FPS games, I am superbly satisfied and the fact that my desk surface doesn't have a huge rubbed off spot on it makes me happy too.

    I've had mine for about a year now with no complaints. The pad is nice and large and comes with a silly gimmick that is actually handy for people w/ corded mice - a clip that keeps your cord from moving... Give it a little slack and you never have to worry about dragging that cord again.

  31. Re:Some background on water and U.S. law by Tschaess · · Score: 2, Informative

    Apples is actually a village in the french speaking part of switzerland.

    The headquater for europe afrika and estern counries is still here (about 8km east of apples in Romanel-sur-Morges)

  32. Re:Or you could go the MasterCard approach... by Nerull · · Score: 2, Informative

    Ive got a MX-700, and I didn't have to do anything to use those, the only ones that need work are the side buttons.

    You could try this:
    http://www.linux-gamers.net/modules/wfsection/arti cle.php?articleid=46

    After glancing over your post again in preview, I think you mean remap them to do something else, which I don't think is possible. It looks as if those buttons send the same signal as the mouse wheel, so there is no way to remap them.

  33. Re:Call me crazy but I like mouse pads.. by TargetBoy · · Score: 2, Informative

    I believe those things are actually made for printers.

  34. Re:Give a mouse a laser... by MikeXpop · · Score: 3, Informative

    Dude, calm down.

    I remember I did something like this awhile ago. There was a comment that gave WAY too much information about that guy's life. The comment was meant to be funny, but in an attempt to be funny myself I modded him informative.

    I was metamodded unfair. It sucked. I mean, the guy already had perfect karma (as do I, and I believe the guy replying to me). I was just having a little fun. Where's the harm?

    --
    Etiquette is etiquette. He kills his mother but he can't wear grey trousers.
  35. Re:Dear Logitech: by Alaska+Jack · · Score: 2, Informative

    You want the Logitech MX 310. It's totally symmetrical. 6 buttons, scroll wheel, optical. I use it on a Mac with USB overdrive, works fine, good for gaming.

    The left-side button takes a *little* practice to get right -- you have to sort of cock your hand sideways a little to get at it easily -- but it's like anything else, you get used to it.

    - Alaska Jack

  36. Re:Class of Laser? by Pendersempai · · Score: 2, Informative

    'Laser' WAS an acronym. Now it's vernacular. Get over yourself. :)